In July 1992, at the end of the first matinee performance of “Phantom� at Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford, producers Bill Stutler and Bob Funking watched a euphoric crowd leap to their feet and shout for more. They turned to each other and said, “This is really a hit!�

It turned out they were understating things.

Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit’s “Phantom� — not to be confused with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera,� but more on that later — ran for an unheard-of nine months at the dinner theater and was still selling at 95 percent when it closed in April 1993.

That production had as its lead Robert Cuccioli, an actor who went on to star in “Jekyll & Hyde� and “Les Miserables� on Broadway, where this fall he’ll star in “Lonestar Love� with Randy Quaid.

“Many people saw it two or three times, and brought their friends to see it. We really could have kept it going,� says Funking. “People were calling in, wanting to pay more, wanting to buy scalper’s tickets. Some nights we were at 101 percent capacity.�

That production brought “Phantom� to the attention of New York-based producers and, after Elmsford, the musical took off, with productions all over the world.

When Funking and Stutler brought it back in 1996, it ran for 19 weeks, with 85 percent of the seats sold.

Ten years later, with that other “Phantom� now the longest-running show in Broadway history, WBT revives the Yeston-Kopit incarnation, with performances starting Oct. 4.

Tom Polum, who was in the ensemble for that first production in 1992, says, “We knew it was an exciting show, but every night when Bob came up for his bow, the energy from the audience was amazing,� says Polum, who directed and choreographed the second production, and directs this production.

“Phantom� is closer to a traditional book musical, not sung-through as Lloyd Webber’s is.

There’s not much music in the second act, Polum says, besides underscoring. It’s the story that draws these people in and gets them so involved.

Gaston Leroux’s “Phantom of the Opera� story — upon which both musicals are based — is simple: A physically deformed man, Erik, terrorizes the Paris Opera House, living in a lair beneath the house. He falls in love with soprano Christine Daae, and takes her as his protege, training her for her big break, when she replaces the diva Carlotta. When Christine discovers Erik is the phantom, she tries to flee, but is drawn back, pitying him. A love triangle between Erik, Christine and Christine’s friend, Raoul, develops and is resolved in the end, after a tender moment between Christine and Erik.

“The story in the Lloyd Webber version is never explained the way it’s explained in this version,� Polum says. “When you understand the story, there’s this amazing scene in Act 2 where he reconciles with his father and the audience feels an emotional moment. I remember we used to see fathers sitting in the audience getting teary-eyed during that scene. Anytime you can get a man to cry in the theater, that’s a special thing.�

Along with Erik (played by Aaron Ramey), Polum says the key figures in Kopit’s well-crafted story are Erik’s father, Carriere (James Van Treuren), Carlotta (Sandy Rosenberg) and Christine, played by Kate Rockwell, who was one of five finalists from the NBC competition show “Grease: You’re the One That I Want.�

Polum hopes Rockwell’s high profile will bring younger audiences to the dinner theater. He’s confident they’ll like what they see.

“The startling thing,� Polum says, “is that Sandy and Christine are not very similar roles. She came in and started to sing and she has an amazing voice, a beautiful coloratura on top. And I said, ‘Why have you never played these roles?’ and she said, ‘They’ve never cast me in these roles,’ and I said, ‘Well, we’re going to cast you.’ �

“We think she’s going to be fantastic. We’re very excited about her,� he says.
Polum says Ramey has the innate fire, tension, sexual energy and physicality that the part demands.

And audiences will see more of the phantom in this “Phantom,� too.
In Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera,� Stutler points out, the phantom spends only 19 minutes onstage.

“They talk about him all the time,� Polum says. “It’s the easiest job on Broadway.�

“Phantom� runs Oct. 4 through Nov. 27, then takes a break while WBT presents a holiday production of “A Christmas Carol� from Nov. 28 through Dec. 23. “Phantom� then resumes its run Dec. 27 through Feb. 9.

Is an extension possible, if seats are still selling well on Feb. 9?

“We may … bend a little,â€? producer Funking says with a gleam in his eye.